NZ Actors Guild Fails To Break "The Hobbit"

The New Zealand Actors' Equity, which announced it would boycott the production of "The Hobbit", has reached an 'interim agreement' with producers to lift the boycott and keep the production on schedule.

"In an effort to restore the confidence of the international and domestic film financing and production communities, and to ensure a peaceful stable period ... we negotiated an interim agreement until 31 March 2011 when it is expected that the (labor negotiations) will be concluded."

However, "Hobbit" director producer Peter Jackson said this latest ploy with no guarantees of further disruptions, "does nothing to help the film stay in New Zealand...the damage inflicted on our film industry by (the actors unions) is long since done", including a mysterious fire that destroyed parts of Jackson's SFX house, Weta Workshop.

"There was an acceptance by the parties that the targeting of individual productions by the union had not been a successful strategy," said producers rep 'SPADA' (The Screen Production and Development Association of New Zealand). "This recent period of industrial unrest has been damaging for New Zealand's reputation as a shooting location..."

Warners now appears keen on shooting the film @ Leavesden Film Studios near London, UK where the "Harry Potter" movies were filmed, in addition to "The Dark Knight" and "Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace".

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Edward Burns: "Nice Guy Johnny"

Sneak Peek the comedy feature "Nice Guy Johnny", from Marlboro Road Gang Productions, written, directed and produced by Edward Burns. Aaron Lubin and William Rexer also produce with co-producers Benjamin Cheah, Mike Harrop and Nicolas Newbold.

Burns co-stars in the film as 'Uncle Terry', alongside Matt Bush as 'Johnny Rizzo', Kerry Bishe as 'Brooke', Max Baker as 'Max', Anna Wood as 'Claire', Brian Delate as 'Frank', Marsha Dietlein as 'Nicole' and Jay Patterson as 'Dr. Meadows'.

"...Sure, she can be a little overbearing sometimes, but baby-faced 'Johnny Rizzo' loves his fiancée 'Claire and he made her a promise: by the time he's 25-years-old, he'll trade his current dream job as a local sports talk radio host (even if it is the 2 a.m. slot) for something that'll pay bigger bucks. And Johnny's nothing, if not a man of his word.

"Now he's flying to New York to interview for some snoozeville job that Claire's well-to-do father set up. Enter Uncle Terry, who lives in New York, a rascally womanizer bent on turning a day in the Hamptons into a final fling for his nephew. Nice guy Johnny's not interested, of course, but then he meets the lovely Brooke..."

Open to US residents only, enter to win 1 "Nice Guy Johnny" Gift Bag, including:

-Signed "Nice Guy Johnny" poster by Ed Burns
-Signed "Nice Guy Johnny" screenplay by Ed Burns
-DVD of "Nice Guy Johnny"

-Soundtrack from "Nice Guy Johnny"

To be eligible to win, send your name and address to : commandentertainment@yahoo.com

"Nice Guy Johnny" will be available on iTunes, DVD and VOD, October 26th.

Become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/niceguyjohnnymovie

Pre-Order the Movie on iTunes at http://bit.ly/NiceGuyiTunes

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Nice Guy Johnny"...

2009 British Columbia Film Report

British Columbia Film reports that the total British Columbia film/television production spend in BC was just over $1.3 billion in 2009, a slight increase over 2008.

This growth can be accounted for by a significant increase in total service production spend – from $841 million in 2008 to just under $1.1 billion in 2009.

84 service productions – 14 television series, 9 animations and 24 other projects – were shot in British Columbia in 2009.

The increase in service production was offset dramatically by a decline in productions created by BC companies – with domestic production dropping to $218 million in 2009 from $366 million in 2008. This decline is at least partially due to reduced product demand by Canadian broadcasters who experienced declining ad revenue over the last two years and by increased competitive pressure from Ontario.

166 domestic productions were shot in the province last year, including 19 feature films, 34 television series, 90 other television projects and 12 animated projects.

Feature film saw an especially large decrease – 19 projects with a BC spend of $31 million, down from 25 projects with a BC spend of $84 million in 2008.

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Oakley Looks Into "TRON: Legacy"

Oakley, Inc. will release a special edition of 3D eyewear in November, to support the upcoming 3D release of "TRON: Legacy", opening across North America, December 17, 2010.

"The premiere of 'TRON: Legacy' is a great opportunity for us to introduce moviegoers to the unique innovations of Oakley 3D eyewear," said Oakley CEO Colin Baden. "This film will be an incredible visual experience, and those who view it with our eyewear will get the most out of it by enjoying the clarity and 3D performance..."

"Collaborating with Oakley provided Disney with a great opportunity to interpret the aesthetics and themes of 'TRON: Legacy' into cutting edge eyewear for fans to enjoy," said Stephen Teglas, vice president and general manager of Fashion & Home North America at Disney Consumer Products.

Oakley 3D eyewear, features 'HDO-3D', a collection of proprietary lens innovations that eliminates 'ghosting' or 'crosstalk' between images, and offer a unique lens curvature, providing a wider field of view and minimum glare.

3D Gascan is also designed with a 'Three-Point Fit' to retain the lenses in optical alignment, eliminating unbalanced pressure points. The lightweight frame makes contact only at the sides of the head and bridge of the nose.

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